A man’s dead wife and four children — killed in a raging house fire — were held yesterday in a Manhattan funeral home while federal officials process papers so he can return to New York after burying them in his native Africa.

Mamadou Soumare was to appear today at the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services’ Manhattan office to obtain an advance parole document, which will allow him to leave the country and return.

“We’re happy we’re able to do it,” said an agency spokesman, Shawn Saucier.

Mr. Saucier would not say what Mr. Soumare’s current immigration status is, citing federal privacy laws. The native of Mali had applied for asylum in 1992, but the case was never adjudicated, said Senator Schumer.

Rep. Jose Serrano, of the Bronx, said after Monday’s funeral for the 10 people killed in the fire — including Mr. Soumare’s wife and four children — that some members of the family may be living in America undocumented.

Mr. Serrano, Mr. Schumer and Senator Clinton requested that Mr. Soumare be granted a re-entry permit on humanitarian grounds.

Mr. Saucier said the agency is prepared to grant him advance parole, documentation that is typically issued to those living here who have applied for a green card or permanent residence. Foreigners applying for such status cannot travel outside the country while their application is pending, unless they’re issued the special document.

Once back, Mr. Soumare, who came to America in the 1990s, would be subject to the same immigration laws as any other person.

The New York taxi driver lost his entire family when a space heater sparked the Bronx house fire on March 7. Nine of the 10 people who died were children. A mother saved two children by throwing them out the window to neighbors.

It was the city’s deadliest fire since a 1990 blaze at a Bronx social club killed 87 people.

On Monday, a funeral was held for the victims at the Islamic Cultural Center in the Bronx. A sea of Muslim mourners knelt in the streets as the simple wooden coffins were carried past. Hundreds more packed the mosque, joining the fathers of the nine dead children — Mr. Soumare and Moussa Magassa.

Mr. Soumare was driving a taxi in New York when his frantic wife called, screaming — the last time he would hear her voice.

After Monday’s funeral, the five Magassa children were buried in New Jersey. But Mr. Soumare’s wife and four children — from 7 months to 7 years old — were taken back to Francisco’s Funeraria in East Harlem.

Last week’s deaths prompted a huge outpouring of support. The families have received almost $300,000 in donations and accepted New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner’s offer to pay for the funerals. A contractor has offered to rebuild the ravaged house, free of charge. And Mr. Soumare has accepted Air France’s offer to fly the bodies to Mali.